CMRL pay case: Company MD Sasidharan Kartha’s daughter appears before ED for questioning

Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of CMRL CEO Sasidharan S. Kartha, arrives at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office for questioning in connection with the CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case in Kochi on Monday (June 15, 2026). | Photo credit: PTI

Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Cochin Minerals and Rutil Ltd (CMRL) CEO Sasidharan S. Kartha, appeared before the zonal office of the Executive Directorate (ED) in Kochi on Monday morning (June 15, 2026) for questioning in connection with a money laundering case related to the CMRL payment case. Ms. Kartha is one of the directors of a company associated with CMRL.

The central agency had earlier asked Veena T., daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to appear for questioning on June 17, 2026 as part of its probe into the alleged repayment case involving Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, her now defunct firm, and CMRL.

The ED is likely to ask Ms Shibi about the services offered by Ms Veena’s firm to CMRL. He also directed CMRL officials to produce documents related to financial transactions between the company and Ms. Veena’s firm. The CEO also issued summons to Mr. Karth, Saran S. Karth, his son and the joint managing director and senior officials of the company to appear for questioning.

The investigation pertains to allegations that CMRL made payments of ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic without receiving any services in return.

On 27 May 2026, the agency raided Mr Vijayan’s Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram residences as part of an investigation into whether Ms Veena’s firm had received substantial monthly advances from private mining company CMRL during the period 2017-2021, allegedly without providing any tangible service.

According to the ED, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited (EICPL), run by Mr. Kartha, gave loans worth ₹50,000 to Exalogic, despite the company’s alleged failure to repay on time.

The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in an Ernakulam court in April 2025. During the raids, the ED froze ₹18.36 crore in 242 accounts held during searches. She claimed that the searches conducted as part of the investigation yielded several incriminating records, accounts, digital evidence, investments and fixed deposits in banks.

Published – 15 Jun 2026 12:18 IST